Who Killed One the Gun?
Will be published approx. on 20. November 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
288 pages
978-1-942436-67-6 (ISBN)
Description
"THE MOST SURPRISING BOOK OF THE YEAR." -ROBIN SLOAN
A cozy noir for fans of Knives Out!, time loops, and old-time whodunits. Private eye One the Gun and his right-hand dame Two the True Blue are on the trail of the killer of Five the No Longer Alive. But as the numbers and the clues stack up, One the Gun realizes that today is exactly like yesterday-in fact maybe actually is yesterday-and he's pretty sure that at the end of yesterday he was shot to death. It's a dilly of a pickle as time continues to loop back on itself, one murder case becomes two, and the gumshoe races against the clock to smoke out his own killer-before that killer can stop his clock for keeps. Gigi Little's noir-soaked and delightfully surreal debut pays homage to the radio classics of the forties and fifties while investigating themes of greed, sexism, and the consequences of unchecked power.
A cozy noir for fans of Knives Out!, time loops, and old-time whodunits. Private eye One the Gun and his right-hand dame Two the True Blue are on the trail of the killer of Five the No Longer Alive. But as the numbers and the clues stack up, One the Gun realizes that today is exactly like yesterday-in fact maybe actually is yesterday-and he's pretty sure that at the end of yesterday he was shot to death. It's a dilly of a pickle as time continues to loop back on itself, one murder case becomes two, and the gumshoe races against the clock to smoke out his own killer-before that killer can stop his clock for keeps. Gigi Little's noir-soaked and delightfully surreal debut pays homage to the radio classics of the forties and fifties while investigating themes of greed, sexism, and the consequences of unchecked power.
Reviews / Votes
A Powell's Books best-sellerAs seen in Locus, Shelf Awareness, Kirkus, Oregon Arts Watch, Foreword Reviews, and Necessary Fiction
"The most surprising book of the year: what begins noir-ish turns psychedelic, with the delicious time loop of Groundhog Day running darker, and stranger. Gigi Little has conjured a pocket universe of clocks and numbers, archetypes and subversions; Who Killed One the Gun? is one of a kind." -Robin Sloan, author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
"A highly original metafictional pastiche."
-Kirkus Reviews
"A hard-boiled detective story and a whimsical, existential meditation on destiny, self-determination, and forgiveness."
-Foreword Reviews
"She tells her tale in a happily tongue-in-cheek manner, having sly fun with the conventions of the traditional detective novel and giving it an arm twist or three. Little was also a circus clown for 15 years, and a welcome dollop of that slightly absurdist take on everyday reality suffuses the novel."
-Oregon Arts Watch
"Gigi Little just gave noir mouth-to-mouth. Who Killed One the Gun? resuscitates what was last best about old school radio noir with a spectacular post-genre kick. Characters are numbers, numbers lose their linearity, and time itself is laid bare as an echo chamber. What is staged on the page is a storytelling field that reminds us that we are all always already out of time, and that recreating stories is what saves us. As intellectually stunning as it is creatively playful. A genre and gender-bending brilliant beat of a book."
-Lidia Yuknavitch, author of Reading the Waves
"A witty, whimsical, time-bending adventure that hums with hilarity and heart."
-Mo Daviau, author of Epic and Lovely
"Who Killed One the Gun? is all at once a daring piece of speculative fiction, a hard-boiled noir, and a linguistic marvel. It effortlessly combines these genres while never detracting or ebbing from the suspense as our title character attempts to solve his own murder. While One the Gun is a man out of time, the novel has a lot to say about both our contemporary world and the nature of guilt."
-Brian S. Ellis, author of Against Common Sense and Pretty Much the Last Hardcore Kid in This Town
"This is the funniest tongue-in-cheek mystery I have read today, yesterday and who knows how far back. With a time-looping plot that requires our lead detective to solve his own murder before it's too late, what more do we need to know? Absolutely loved this debut, and I want MORE from Gigi Little, like NOW! (Wait 'til I tell my book group about this one!)"
-Linda Bond, bookseller, Auntie's Books
"Someone died at The Dive and a private dick has to deal with deja vu while looking for the one who did it in Gigi Little's daring and delightful debut. A super fun noir to lose yourself in, with a cast of characters that form an off-kilter mosaic of suspense."
-Kevin Sampsell, Powell's Books
"If you love noir and parody and magical realism, but can't imagine how you might find them all in one place, your search is over. In Who Killed One the Gun?, Gigi Little has created a whip smart pastiche perfect for fans of Raymond Chandler, Franz Kafka, and Monty Python. I can't think of a time when I read anything quite as original. How did she do it? Strap yourselves in, guys and dolls. What a ride!"
-Liz Scott, author of This Never Happened
"Gigi Little's debut novel has all the charm and intrigue of a black-and-white episode of Twilight Zone while leaving the door open to visit the colorful, funny, and witty style all her own. An absolute joy. A must read."
-Bradley K. Rosen, author of Bunkie Spills
"Gigi Little has written a boozy love letter to a bygone era of noir detective radio plays. It's Perry Mason meets Groundhog Day. A slick ticking time machine of a whodunit. You can't help but root for the brooding anti-hero, a tragically flawed gumshoe chasing a cold killer and an ocean-eyed dame. Who Killed One the Gun? pops off its pages like a sizzling band of hardboiled bullets chasing a runaway jazz train."
-David Ciminello, author of The Queen of Steeplechase Park
"Gigi Little's Who Killed One the Gun? puts the conventions of detective noir to far more playful and adventurous uses than we normally see. Combining a conceit that fuses the best aspects of Groundhog Day and Casablanca with spry, vivid prose Little creates nothing short of a literary centaur, an experimental novel that will leave you guessing at the fates of One, Two, and the rest of her shadowy, endearingly numerical crew until you turn that final page."
-Kurt Baumeister, author of Twilight of the Gods
"A snappy noir with a 'Groundhog Day' twist. Good fun-and a very intriguing book club choice!"
-Tegan Tigani, bookseller, Queen Anne Book Co.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
OR
United States
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 150 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
386 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-942436-67-6 (9781942436676)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Gigi Little is a book designer and the editor of the regional best-seller City of Weird: 30 Otherworldly Portland Tales. Her writing can be found in journals and anthologies including Portland Noir, Spent, and Dispatches from Anarres, and she's the art director of the award-winning picture book A Tree of My Own. She lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband, fine artist Stephen O'Donnell.